1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system, a control method, an information processing apparatus, and computer-readable medium. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of installing a printer driver and generating a print queue in a printing system including an image output apparatus, print server, and client apparatus which are connected to a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a client apparatus is to output an image using a network-connected image output apparatus, it is necessary to install a printer driver corresponding to the image output apparatus in the client apparatus and register a print queue. This operation generally adopts the following method. The user acquires and executes a printer driver installer, installing a printer driver. Then, he registers the print queue of an image output apparatus for use in the system.
A network-connected image output apparatus often employs a plurality of connection protocols and can cope with various connection forms. For example, a client apparatus is directly connected to an image output apparatus via a local network using a protocol such as LPR (Line PRinter daemon protocol). Also, a client apparatus, print server, and image output apparatus can be connected via an Internet print server using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) or the like.
From various connection forms, the user needs to install and set a printer driver by himself at much expense in time and effort.
To solve this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-366502 discloses a method of searching by a client apparatus for a printer in the same segment, automatically downloading and installing a printer driver from a web site or the like, and adding a print queue. In a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-134245, a client apparatus searches for a printer and presents the result to the user. Then, a printer driver for a printer selected by the user is automatically acquired from a predetermined server and installed. Further, the print queue is registered, and print settings are made.
However, even when the user has already registered a print queue on a local network and uses an image output apparatus, he may want to connect this image output apparatus in another connection form and print. For example, the user uses an Internet print service in addition to printing via the local network connection. By using the image output apparatus via the Internet print service, the user can print from the image output apparatus even in a network environment where he cannot print via the local network connection. For example, assume that the user uses a local network-connected image output apparatus from a notebook type client apparatus in the office. When the user moves the client apparatus to a different network environment, no packet may reach the designated image output apparatus via the local network connection, failing to print. In this case, by designating printing via the Internet print service, the user can obtain an output from the image output apparatus.
In this case, a print queue for connecting to the Internet print service needs to be additionally registered in the client apparatus, in addition to a print queue for the local network connection. Upon the additional registration, the print queue in the client apparatus is connected to the Internet print service, and the print server and image output apparatus are connected.
In this manner, even after the print, queue of a given image output apparatus has already been registered, the user may want to additionally register a print queue in accordance with the application purpose. In a conventional technique, the user needs to prepare again another installer corresponding to a different connection method, launch the installer again, and set another connection form. It is cumbersome for the user to acquire and execute an installer again, set a connection, and register a print queue.